East Coast Boardwalk, Hong Kong

NEC has been used to procure an innovative public space under a marine flyover in Hong Kong. The 2.2 km long East Coast Boardwalk has been constructed below Island Eastern Corridor, an elevated expressway built along the north shore of Hong Kong Island in the 1980s.

The Civil Engineering Development Department (CEDD) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China let the project to IEC Boardwalk JV – a joint venture of Leighton Contractors (Asia), Sinohydro Corporation and Leighton Infrastructure – under a HK$1,181 million (£115 million) NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option C (target contract with activity schedule) in December 2021. Meinhardt Infrastructure and Environment Limited was the NEC project manager and supervisor.

Despite various site constraints involving restricted headroom under the viaducts and working over the sea, the western half of the Boardwalk – between the East Coast Park Precinct and the North Point Promenade – was opened to the public in January 2025, on time and within budget. Other construction challenges that had to be overcome included the Covid-19 pandemic and unforeseen obstructions during the marine piling works. The eastern section of the Boardwalk, spanning from North Point Promenade to Quarry Bay, is expected to be completed by mid-2025. 

Around 1.8 km of the Boardwalk was built over Victoria Harbour using about 70 pre-cast composite deck sections of at least 10 m wide. They are supported on the existing expressway pile caps and around 100 new marine piles. The Boardwalk also has two movable bascule bridges and a movable swing bridge, which give marine access for maintenance vessels to enter the inner waters. 

The decks provide space for walking, jogging and cycling, and are equipped with play areas, fitness equipment, fishing platforms, glass balustrades, seating, water dispensers, toilets and kiosks. The central 400 m section of the Boardwalk runs along the shore-based North Point Promenade, which has been enhanced to include a shared path, more open spaces and leisure facilities. 

The Boardwalk is one of 13 projects worth HK$6.5 billion (£630 million) to improve the north shore of Hong Kong Island. On completion of the Boardwalk, there will be a continuous 13 km long seafront promenade between Kennedy Town in the west to Shau Kei Wan in the east for public enjoyment. 

Collaboration and communication 

CEDD senior engineer Terence Yeung says the project team embraced the NEC requirement to ‘act in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation’. ‘A partnering workshop was held in the initial stage of the contract to align the client, project manager, supervisor and contractor into a cohesive team. Several champion group meetings of the project team’s senior management were then held, providing a platform for sharing views in an open and blame-free atmosphere. As a result, the team spirit has been well established, fostering collaboration and effective communication throughout the contract.’

Yeung says despite facing several unforeseen circumstances affecting the accepted programme, including the Covid-19 pandemic and obstructions during marine piling works, the project team made good use of NEC early warnings and continued to communicate to find ways to keep the works on track. ‘Good solutions were materialised through mutual trust and working together to overcome hurdles, and various design workshops were held to discuss various contractor’s proposals submitted under NEC4 clause 16 to reduce both cost and time.’

Yeung remarks the project manager’s early involvement in assessing the feasibility of the contractor’s proposals enabled the process to go smoothly, avoiding any unnecessary design effort. ‘In some cases, specialist subcontractors were invited to provide their views on construction techniques to bring “design for safety” into the proposals. By leveraging the expertise of all parties involved, the project team showcased collaboration to overcome the challenges.’ 

For example, he says the contractor proposed parallel working of two subcontractors for marine piling works, changing forty-six 0.8 m diameter piles to sixteen 1.8 m diameter piles and maximising the extent of offsite prefabrication. ‘To accomplish these cost-saving proposals, the project manager assisted the contractor in carrying out stability checking using its existing digital model, which helped the contractor save much time for the design. Also, the client took the lead to seek early approvals for the changes from various stakeholders.’

Completion on time and budget 

Yeung says the overall time benefits created by the cost-saving proposals mitigated the delay brought about by the unforeseen circumstances mentioned above. ‘With the delay mitigated, timely completion of the first 1.1 km of the Boardwalk was achieved. The target completion of the remaining section of the Boardwalk by mid-2025 in accordance with the project delivery schedule remains achievable.’  

He adds that stronger ties enabled the project team to achieve many good results. ‘These included success in delay mitigation, effective cost control, high praise from local stakeholders and excellent site safety management, including winning many safety awards. The results reflected the effectiveness of collaboration, innovation and proactive engagement of the project team.’   

Yeung concludes, ‘Overall, the successful NEC-inspired collaboration in the project has not only delivered positive outcomes but paved the way for future projects to adopt similar approaches – driving efficiency through collaboration, mitigating risks and fostering stakeholder satisfaction.’

Benefits of using NEC

• NEC requirement to ‘act in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation’ resulted in strong collaboration and effective communication within the project team.
• Good use of NEC early warnings helped the project team find solutions to challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and obstructions during marine piling works.
• NEC Clause 16 encouraged the contractor to propose changes to the scope to reduce both cost and time, conducing to keeping the project on programme and budget.

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